![]() ![]() Wikipedia has a slightly flimsy page, drawing on the Merriam-Webster definition: “Musicality is “sensitivity to, knowledge of, or talent for music” or “the quality or state of being musical”.” So what about “musicality”? Is it different from musicianship? The best way to do that is to take the instrument away.” Defining Musicality In his article “What is Musicianship” Michael Kaulkin (on the Musicianship and Composition faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory’s Pre-College Division) agrees that “inner hearing” is key, writing “Musicianship is about training the student not just to be a player of an instrument, but to be a Musician. This occurs when a musician is able to produce music which they perceive internally and in the imagination, whether through playing by ear, singing, reading from notation, or through improvisation.” “Musicianship is a broad concept that covers a complex range of musical abilities… it is loosely defined as the ability to ‘think in sound’. That’s pretty vague.ĪBRSM gets a bit more specific, connecting musicianship to audiation: So essentially: musicianship means “being a musician”. defines it as “knowledge, skill, and artistic sensitivity in performing music.” The Cambridge Dictionary says musicianship is “knowledge, skill, and artistic sensitivity in performing music.” Musicianship encompasses a range of skills. It’s not quite slang, but it’s certainly less formal than the traditional classical music equivalent: musicianship. So let’s take this opportunity to explore: what is musicality? ![]() ![]() By using this short and simple word we risk overlooking many of the dimensions and subtleties it’s used to represent. Like all catch-all terms though, there is a downside to the convenience. It encompasses many of the skills we help people to learn at Musical U. Musicality is a very useful catch-all for “being musical”. Do we truly understand the full range of skills and experience bundled up in that simple word though? But what exactly does it mean? As musicians and music lovers we all have some instinctive understanding of what musicality is, and perhaps we can even spot it when we see (or hear) it. We use the word “musicality” a lot here at Musical U. ![]()
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